TBM mayor named one of four co-chairs of water equity commission

The Blue Mountains Mayor Andrea Matrosovs is excited about a new role she has with the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.

Matrosovs attended the Cities Initiative's annual conference/meeting in Montreal from May 15 - 17 and it was an eventful occasion for her.

Matrosovs has been selected as one of four co-chairs of the Cities Initiative’s Mayor's Commission on Water Equity, which is comprised of two Canadian mayors and two American mayors. Joining her as co-chairs are Nicolas Dufour - Reptetigny, Quebec, Cavalier Johnson, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Shawyn Patterson-Howard, Mount Vernon, New York.

“The four of us will lead that mayor’s commission and provide opportunities to keep the dialogue going in communities across the basin,” Matrosovs said in an interview with CollingwoodToday. “There is a legacy of former and current mayors who have provided a lot of experience and effort into the advocacy around our Great Lakes and St. Lawrence and I look forward to continuing to work with them. I really truly believe that it is a collective effort and that not one of us stands alone. We are always speaking together.”

The Mayor’s Commission has a mission to promote equitable access to clean, safe and affordable water for all basin residents.

“This is a new commission that has been struck,” said Matrosovs, adding that the four co-chairs will “lead the conversation and be able to appeal to both Washington and Ottawa on what the two nations can do to be able to support us.”

The Cities Initiative is a multinational coalition of local governments led by mayors and chief elected officers working collaboratively to safeguard the economic, environmental and social health of communities in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin. The organization is committed to stewarding the basin’s freshwater and ensuring that all residents have access to clean, safe and affordable water as the foundation for sustainable, vibrant, inclusive and resilient communities.

The organization was founded in 2003 by Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, with Toronto mayor David Miller as the founding Canadian Chair.

Matrosovs said the Cities Initiative has been growing ever since and this year welcomed First Nations members.

“The numbers are growing. We’re up to 270 members. This was the biggest AGM we’ve had yet,” she said.

Matrosovs said she is thrilled to be able to continue the hard work of past local mayors who were involved with the Cities Initiative.

“I really send out my thanks to some of our local South Georgian Bay mayors in the past who have really really contributed to the growth of this organization. Former mayor Ellen Anderson here in The Blue Mountains and former mayor Terry Geddes in Collingwood were very instrumental in those foundational years and continued to follow its progress. Former (Collingwood) mayor Chris Carrier and also our current MPP former mayor Brain Saunderson also saw the value of municipalities coming together like this and being able to speak at the table in Ottawa and be heard of course down in Washington too,” she said.

The conference also featured a very special moment for Matrosovs when she was named Ontario Member of the Year at a special awards ceremony held during the event. The full story can be found here.

“I was very surprised,” she said, adding that it was humbling to receive such recognition. “I’m really only one cog in the wheel.”